Taylor Swift Breaks Beyoncé’s Record for Most Solo MTV VMA Wins

Taylor Swift closed out Tuesday night with a record-breaking number of wins for “30 Moon Men,” surpassing Beyoncé’s record of 26 wins as a solo artist. Beyoncé, who performed as part of Destiny’s Child and with Jay-Z as The Carters, has 30 wins, matching Swift’s recent achievement. Swift is also the first artist to win Video of the Year five times.

During her acceptance speech, Swift spoke about the video’s direction and thanked the many involved, including Post Malone and “my boyfriend Travis Kelce,” who was “cheering and woo-ing from across the studio where we were shooting [the video],” she said. “I want to thank him for adding that to our shoot because I will always remember that.”

She continued, thanking them for “making my life what it is, for making the Eras Tour for what it’s become, and for making the ‘The Tortured Poet’s Department’ what it’s become,” she told the audience. “That’s all you guys.”

Before leaving the stage, Swift repeated what she’d written the night before in the caption of an Instagram post urging people to vote in the upcoming election. “If you are 18, please register to vote,” she told the VMAs audience. “It’s an important election.”

Swift led the nominations with 12, including some of the most coveted honors, such as Artist of the Year, and multiple awards for her and Post Malone’s “Fortnite.” Among others, she won Song of the Year, Song of the Summer, and Video of the Year. She is the only artist to win the latter award three years in a row.

Beyoncé was nominated for Song of the Year for her hit “Texas Hold ‘Em,” the first single from her country LP, Cowboy Carter. “Texas” competed against Swift’s “Fortnite,” Kendrick Lamar’s “Not Like Us,” Sabrina Carpenter’s “Espresso,” Teddy Swims’ “Loose Control,” and Jack Harlow’s “Lovin’ on Me.”